PUBLICANS Tam Nesbit and Jan Foley are retiring after more than 30 years of owning and working at Dumfries’ Globe Inn.
Tam, 74, originally from Kilmarnock, bought the Market Square pub in 1989 with his then wife, but his first impression was surprising. He said: “I remember getting out the car with my wife and going into the pub and it was absolutely chock-a and I thought this is great and I got all excited, but then my wife turns to me and goes ‘have you not noticed it doesn’t look anything like the pictures? It turns out we’d gone to the wrong Globe.”
Jan, a former nurse, bought into the pub in 1996 and since then Tam and Jan have run it together and have seen many characters come and go. She said: “Our customers are down to earth people, they might not have a lot but if you’re a stranger to Dumfries, they’re very welcoming.
“We had a group of Americans a few years back come in but they had mixed us up with ‘the other Globe’ so they were a bit gutted when we said we didn’t do food, but they had such a good night that they kept coming back.”
During their tenure at the pub Jan and Tam have hosted a number of fundraising events, theme nights and have raised over £200,000 for various charities and causes.
Tam joked that he would’ve been happy to work for longer but felt it was time to retire after being diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2021.
He said: “The bar flies here have raised over £100,000 for Queen of South, it goes towards three apprentices within the team. But we’ve also raised money for meningitis, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s, British Heart Foundation and motor neurone charities.
“It’s not just a pub to us, it’s more like a wee community, but it’s time I was pulling my last pint, my hands are getting a bit too shaky for it.”
The Globe has been purchased by fellow Dumfries publican Phil Robertson, with Jan and Tam’s final trading day happening on Monday.
Jan added: “There’s been so many memorable nights, you wouldn’t believe half the things that have happened in here.
“One time we had horse shoed in the bar, Tam once answered the door in a dress and stilettos when the police came round after getting noise complaints, we’ve had a beach party in the dead of winter and everyone came in their summer gear.
“And the customers have always had a laugh with us and they’ve been so loyal over the years, we can’t thank them enough.”
